Kabul the new Saigon

Photos courtesy: Shireen Mazari Twitter

History repeating itself

Historians all around the world are carefully witnessing history repeating itself. As if they are observing another Vietnam War in the 21st century. For years the Americans were trying to rebuild South Vietnam with their self-chosen puppet leaders and governments being forcefully imposed on the country. Training the South Vietnamese army to fight the North Vietnamese army and the Viet Cong. But even after funding millions of US dollars, equipping the South Vietnamese army with modern US military technology and weapons. It all went down the drain as soon as the US government decided to leave Saigon and abandon it. Viet Cong, the communist guerilla insurgents in South Vietnam look province by province, district by district and city by city in a manner of days. Cities fell to the Viet Cong like unstoppable dominos falling in a line waiting for their turn to be liberated. 

US training and weapons to the South Vietnamese army were of no use as their morale and cause to fight was lost somewhere in the way of mismanagement and corruption of their political leaders and generals and the very fact that their only ally the US abandoned them alone to die. The Vietnamese people had no hope left from their government to protect them. Moreover, serving and former South Vietnamese government officials were struggling to get out of the country as they feared Viet Cong would take revenge from them for supporting the US and their puppet governments.

Afghanistan falling like dominos

Everybody in South Vietnam knew what was about to happen. Everybody felt betrayed and helpless, especially people in the army and government. The current situation for the last one month in Afghanistan is no different than South Vietnam. After the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, Taliban insurgents became more active and powerful in the country. They started capturing key cities and key provinces in the country. Kandahar, Ghazni, Bhagias, Farah, Balkh Nangarhar and many other provinces and their capitals fell to the Taliban precisely in the same manner provinces and districts of South Vietnam fell to the Viet Cong, dominos! The astonishing thing is that many governors surrendered to the Taliban without even firing a single bullet. It is either the Kabul government’s humiliating failure or people trusting the Taliban.

Fall of Ashraf Ghani

Afghan president Ashraf Ghani’s situation is no different to South Vietnamese leader Ngô Đình Diệm’s situation. The Viet Cong entered Saigon like a sharp swift knife cutting through butter. Reports suggest that Taliban are already in some districts of Kabul. Government and army officials have gathered at the Hamid Karzai airport in order to flee the country. Reports also suggest that armored vehicles of Afghan soldiers are shooting inside the city to clear traffic in order to escape the city, this is the same chaos Saigon saw when Viet Cong were about to enter the city. Many government ministers have fled the country. Powerful anti-Taliban politicians, generals and warlords like self-proclaimed Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum and General Mohammad Atta Noor fled to Uzbekistan as soon as Balk province fell to the Taliban.

Peaceful transaction or a bloodbath?

Kabul has indeed become the new Saigon for its similarities to the Vietnam War after the withdrawal of US troops. Although the Taliban have claimed that they will not enter Kabul by force meaning they do not intend to spill innocent blood yet the possibility of a bloodbath in Kabul is still imminent. The best strategy Pakistan and other neighbors of Afghanistan can adopt is a diplomatic one, forcing and encouraging the Taliban for a formulation of a legitimate government with representation from every political and ethnic group as it’s part, so that 90’s civil war wouldn’t repeat this time.